A 23-year-old backcountry skier was rescued on Saturday after tumbling down a narrow shoot near Telluride.

Around 11 a.m., the skier began to descend the San Joaquin shoot in the upper Bear Creek area, according to a news release from the San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office. The man skied roughly one-third of the way down before he hit some rocks and lost his balance.

A nearby hiker saw the fall and called the Telluride Ski Patrol around 1 p.m., according to the sheriff’s office. Ski patrol contacted the San Miguel County Sheriff’s office, which dispatched a search and rescue team.

The rescue team found the injured man and prepared him to be airlifted. The skier was taken to the Telluride Airport where an emergency medical crew was waiting.

“We were able to get to him, and he didn’t have to spend the night out there cold and injured. The next guy might not be so lucky,” Sheriff Deputy Mike Kimball Jr. said in a statement. “Do not ski into Bear Creek if you are not prepared for self-rescue, period.”

The man was wearing a helmet and an avalanche beacon. He was taken to the Telluride Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.